A Scarf
by AnonymousSparkle
Summary: Kiba makes the mistake of making fun of Sakura for knitting. The boy quickly learns his lesson when she dares him to knit himself a scarf.


**AN: A random one-shot dedicated to all those girls who have ever had to deal with our male counter parts thinking "girly" activities are easy. Also dedicated to a few good friends who recently took it upon themselves to teach me to knit. This might just turn into a series of one-shots of the boys putting their feet in their mouths. **

It was a beautiful, if not slightly chilly, day in Konoha. The sun shone down on the town and yet there was a distinct air of change about the season. This was one of Ino's favorite times of year; the temperature was neither unbearably cold nor oven temperature hot. Breathing in the crisp cool air she relished in the perfectness of it all.

One of her favorite parts about this time of year was that she could wear some of her longer clothing. This weather was perfect for a light sweater and a fashionable scarf. Ino loved the ability to show off her winter fashions before it got so cold that anything truly cute became hidden under layers.

The blonde-haired girl looked up from her thoughts just in time to catch the eyes of her friends. There was a whole group of her friends getting together today for lunch and she had been looking forward to the occasion. Sakura, Naruto, Shikamaru, Kiba, Hinata, Shino and even Neji and Tenten were there. Of course, Ino had to be fashionably late.

Ino approached the group with a smile gracing her lips. Between the perfect weather and being able to spend time with friends, she couldn't see how the day could get much better. After the typical greetings the group began to walk toward the restaurant they had picked for lunch. "Someone's in a good mood." Shikamaru commented as he walked beside her. This was more of a statement than anything; the young man neither meant to question it nor intended for her to refute the fact.

Ino laughed at her teammate as she lifted her face to feel the warmth of the sun on it. "It's a beautiful day. What is there for me to anything but happy about?" she asked. Shikamaru just chuckled beside her.

Ino took a moment to look around at her friends. Most had entered conversations as they walked and were chatting happily with each other. Kiba, who was wearing a thin shirt, shivered when a breeze picked up. "Better start wearing something a bit warmer." Ino called up to him.

"Oh no, Ino's trying to give you fashion advice." Tenten, who was walking behind Ino said.

"I am not!" Ino practically shouted. "If I were giving him fashion advice I would be telling him to avoid spring colors."

This caused the group to laugh.

"You know, I could knit you a scarf if you'd like." Sakura said to Kiba from her place ahead of him.

"Sakura-chan, you knit?" Naruto asked, earning a few laughs at his surprised tone.

"What's wrong with knitting? It's relaxing!" Sakura exclaimed, this only earned more laughs.

Kiba, one of the last ones to stop laughing, said, "I appreciate the thought Sakura but no thank you."

"What are hand-knit scarf's to girly for you?" Sakura asked, angry now.

"I never said that." Defended Kiba

Ino listened to the conversation, half of her wanting to laugh and the other half wanting to smack the dog loving ninja. "I knit too, you know. I made this scarf myself." Ino said, holding up the dark purple scarf wrapped around her neck.

"That's handmade?" Neji, who had been silent up until now, asked. The calm boy, who usually would never have joined this type of conversation, had a barely noticeable surprised look on his face. "I would have never guess knitting as one of your talents." He added.

"I am a girl of many talents." Ino remarked, a serious tone in her voice. This had everyone laughing again.

Naruto decided to add his two cents in the form calling to Kiba from his place in front. "Let Sakura-chan knit you a scarf. Last Christmas she made me a black and orange one. It was really nice!"

Sakura snorted at this and added, "Which he promptly went and destroyed. Besides, the scarf hater doesn't deserve one."

A strong wind blew up again causing Kiba to shiver. "Maybe I could use one." He said

"Too late, Sakura-chan offered and you had to make fun of her knitting." Ino said with a laugh.

"I could show you how to make one." Sakura mentioned an evil grin on her face. "You probably couldn't knit a scarf, no matter how many times I showed you, though."

Kiba rolled his eyes, "It can't possibly be that difficult."

Sakura, Ino, Hinata and even Tenten laughed. All of them knew Kiba was digging himself a hole.

"I dare you to learn to knit and make yourself a scarf that you aren't too embarrassed to wear around town this winter." Sakura said with a smirk.

All eyes were now on Kiba, to see if he would take the dare. Knowing he could not say no now, Kiba smirked right back at the pink-haired konochi. "I'll take that dare." He replied with confidence.

**Later at Sakura's place**

"Alright, the first thing you'll need to do is cast on." Sakura said from her spot next to Kiba. Both were holding knitting needles and yarn in their hands. "You'll only need one needle for this part." she added, setting one of her needles down. Kiba followed suit.

"You'll need to make a slip knot first." Sakura said, demonstrating. Kiba, who already knew how to do this felt a bit more confident as he tied his knot.

"Now make an L with your left hand and lay the tail across it like this." Sakura said, again demonstrating to the other ninja with her own needle and thread.

After some difficulty, Kiba finally got both hands into place as per Sakura's instructions. Now came the hard part. Sakura had to demonstrate how to create the stitch five times before Kiba understood what she was doing and made his first attempt. Feeling confident after about ten successful loops, the dog trainer looked up to find Sakura watching him patiently, her own needle had at least forty stitches across. How had she done that so quickly?

Things did not get much better when Sakura began to explain the process he would be using until he was ready to cast off, whatever that was. "Remember not to lose count of your stitches." Sakura added once he had gotten started. "If you get too far off track you'll have to start over."

* * *

"AHHHHH! I hate this." Kiba shouted angrily, throwing his knitting, which he had once again messed up, to the ground. Why in the world had he taken that stupid bet? It had been one week and he was no closer to knitting himself a scarf.

Feeling the couch sink lower, he looked up to see who had sat down. Hinata sat there looking at him with an amused smile. "Looks like Sakura was right huh, this is harder than you'd think. I've never have been very good myself." The shy konochi said, picking up the yarn and needles from his feet. Looking down she smoothed out the yarn.

"You knit too?" the boy questioned. "Why anyone would find this relaxing or fun is beyond me." Kiba sighed.

"Guess it is kinda a girl thing." Hinata commented quietly, twirling one of the needles in her hand. "Why don't you just admit to Sakura that she was right and move on?" Hinata asked her friend.

"The guys are going to get a good laugh huh?" Kiba said to his friend.

"Yeah, they're going to make fun." Hinata said, blushing at the thought, "But, you'll know better than to put your foot in your mouth next time. Think about the trouble you'll avoid that they won't." The girl stuttered as she tried to comfort her friend.

Kiba laughed at the thought of some of the things his friends might get themselves into. "Thanks Hinata." He replied. Now he had to go face Sakura.

**A Month Later**

"Nice scarf Kiba." Sakura said as she passed him on the sidewalk.

"Thanks, took me forever to finish it." The boy answered, leaving a shocked konochi in his wake.

**I hope this isn't too bad. The idea just kind came into my head and I decided to write it out. Please let me know what you thought. If I get positive feedback, I might do another one shot. I'm thinking one on heals might be funny. I know that pretty button is calling to you…press it!**


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